Recently, a 3D image attracts attention. The 3D image is generally watched by a method of watching alternately displayed images of two viewpoints with glasses in which a shutter for left eye opens when one of the images of the two viewpoints is displayed and a shutter for right eye opens when the other image is displayed (hereinafter, referred to as a method with glasses).
However, in such method with glasses, a viewer has to purchase the glasses in addition to a 3D image display device, so that buying motivation of the viewer decreases. The viewer should wear the glasses when watching, so that this is troublesome. Therefore, demand for the watching method capable of watching the 3D image without the glasses (hereinafter, referred to as a method without glasses) increases.
In the method without glasses, the images of three or more viewpoints are displayed such that visible angles are different for each viewpoint and the viewer may watch the 3D image without the glasses by watching each image of optional two viewpoints by right and left eyes.
A method of obtaining a color image and a depth image of a predetermined viewpoint and generating color images of multiple viewpoints including the viewpoint other than a predetermined viewpoint using the color image and the depth image to display is studied as the method of displaying the 3D image by the method without glasses. Meanwhile, the term “multiple viewpoints” is intended to mean three or more viewpoints.
A method of separately encoding the color images and the depth images is suggested as a method of encoding the color images and the depth images of the multiple viewpoints (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).